A surprising reason why the Miami Marlins did this trade

At the Trade Deadline, the Miami Marlins made multiple moves. One of them was trading LF/DH Bryan De La Cruz to the Pittsburgh Pirates for prospects RHP Jun-Seok Shim and 1B Garrett Forrester. There were other intriguing trades as well, but let's get back to this one. We now have some more information on what actually transpired.

What led to the Miami Marlins trading Bryan De La Cruz to Pittsburgh?

Bryan De La Cruz wasn't a free agent at the end of the season, nor was he close to it in the subsequent seasons. He is in fact under control through the 2027 season and is just entering arbitration. As it turns out, he just wasn't seen as a long-term fit. The Miami Marlins analytical department "wasn't impressed by his long-term potential".

I can see that point of view as he's a terrible defender with bad contact, who until his power breakout this season didn't seem that interesting at all. De La Cruz is already 27 years old and has been around since the 2021 season, however at no point did he stand out or seem to have much more to offer.

Bryan De La Cruz batted .296/.356/.427, with 5 home runs and 19 RBI in 58 games and 199 AB in 2021. A decent debut but with no exciting underlying metrics. In 2022, he received more playing time, as in 115 games and 329 AB. His batting line however dropped to .252/.294/.432, with 13 home runs and 43 RBI. He received a full season of playing time in 2023, with 153 games and 579 AB. He could only bat .257/.304/.411, with 19 home runs and 78 RBI however. It was an unimpressive performance worth just -0.3 WAR.

As you can see, there wasn't much there going into this season. It was therefore a surprise when he put up a .245/.289/.417 batting line, with 18 home runs and 51 RBI in 105 games and 424 AB for The Fish this season. I mean the power was nice, but his EV is still just 89.6 for the season. Overall, a bad defender, with bad contact and questionable power isn't really a long-term piece for the Miami Marlins.

The other reason why The Fish made the trade, was interest in Jun-Seok Shim. Shim's pitching arsenal and spin rates really impressed the team and apparently his shoulder issues aren't considered too concerning. I'm very intrigued by Shim myself. Let's hope that the trade will end up a win for the Miami Marlins.